Title: Human Nature
By: angstytimelord
Pairing: Tenth Doctor/Spencer Reid
Fandom: Doctor Who/Criminal Minds
Rating: PG-13
Table: VRD challenge - Brown, 5_prompts
Prompt: Rows of pews in an empty church (picture)
Disclaimer: This is entirely a product of my own imagination, and I make no profit from it. I do not own the Tenth Doctor or Spencer Reid, unfortunately. Please do not sue.

***

The Doctor shoved his hands into his pockets as he looked up at the facade of the church that Spencer had gone into, wondering if he should enter the inner sanctum. He didn't want to bother his young lover, and Spencer had seemed to need the private time.

Their relationship hadn't been impaired by Spencer's descent into the hell of his drug addiction; in fact, the Time Lord thought that they had grown closer during the time since Spencer had succumbed to that lure. But he did hope that it wouldn't happen again.

Should he go in to see if Spencer was ready to leave? Or would that only interrupt his lover in what he was doing? The Doctor sighed, closing his eyes for a moment before resolutely heading up the steps. He would go in, and hope that it was the right thing to do.

He opened the front door of the church, stepping into the vestibule and letting the door close slowly behind him. This wasn't the kind of place that he felt comfortable in; churches were lovely, but he didn't feel as if he really belonged in any of them.

Stepping into the sanctuary of the church, the Doctor blinked, looking around him. It was a lovely interior; there were long rows of pews, lamps suspended from the ceiling, and a quiet peace that almost made him feel at home in such a place.

Spencer was sitting in one of the pews near the back, his head bowed, hands clasped loosely in his lap. The Doctor almost didn't want to approach him; he didn't know what personal journey his boyfriend might be taking, but he was loath to interrupt it, whatever it was.

Stil, he hadn't come into the church to just stand here. Moving to the end of the pew that Spencer was sitting in, he slid onto the bench, moving over towards his boyfriend just as Spencer lifted his head and gave the Doctor a wan smile.

"Hey," he said softly, holding out his hand to the Time Lord. The Doctor was momentarily startled that his lover didn't seem to have any problem with the two of them holding hands in a church before the memory came to him that Spencer had said he wasn't particularly religious.

"It's so peaceful here," the Doctor murmured, for lack of anything else to say. He glanced around them, surprised that he could feel so at home in a church. "It's not overly elaborate, but there's a feeling of care here that you don't see in most public places."

Spencer nodded, squeezing his hand and smiling. "That's one of the reasons I always like to come here when I need some quiet time. I don't pray or anything -- I just like to sit here and let the tranquility seep into me. It makes me feel refreshed."

"Churches usually make me nervous," the Doctor admitted, feeling a little sheepish as he spoke. "They probably shouldn't, but I can't help thinking of what religious people would have done to me in the past if they knew what I am."

"I wouldn't let anybody do anything to you," Spencer said softly, squeezing his hand. "I'd stand between you and anybody who tried to hurt you. Even though I probably wouldn't be that great of a bodyguard, unless I had a gun," he added thoughtfully.

The Doctor couldn't help laughing softly at that; Spencer knew how much he hated guns, and even though his boyfriend had obviously carried one when he was a member of the BAU, he had given that up when he'd become the Doctor's lover and companion.

And Spencer certainly didn't seem to mind not having his gun, he mused. He'd admitted to the Doctor not long after they'd begun traveling together that he'd never felt really comfortable carrying one, and that it was one of the things about being in the FBI that he'd hated.

"I'm glad I don't have to carry a gun any more," Spencer told him, his voice still barely above a whisper. "I never liked having one, you know. I've always felt that I should be able to use my brain to get out of any bad situation, not rely on superior firepower."

"Unfortunately, that's not always how the world works," the Doctor said with a sigh. "But I agree with you, love. I've never much liked guns, either. Sometimes they're inevitable, but I'll never carry one. And I don't plan on shooting one, either."

"That's good to know," Spencer told him, a smile tugging at his lips. "One of the things I love about you is the fact that you're not gun-obsessed. So many humans are. They think violence is the way to solve any of their problems. I wish that weren't so, but ...."

"Not all humans are that way," the Doctor said softly as Spencer's voice trailed off. "The humans who are good people and don't believe in a culture of violence are more widespread than you might think, Spencer. You've just seen so much of the bad side of human nature."

"That's for sure," Spencer muttered, standing up slowly and stretching. "Human nature isn't always the same, though, is it? I've learned that from working with the BAU. There's so many variants -- and I'm willing to bet that you've seen a lot more of them than I have."

"I might have seen more variants of human nature than you have, but I doubt that I've seen them all," the Doctor told him, following his boyfriend to the back of the church. "And there are some things that are common to all the races of the universe."

"It's a shame that they don't all have places like this to go," Spencer said, glancing back at the church as they moved into the vestibule. "Maybe it would give them a feeling of inner peace and calm whatever demons might be driving them. You never know."

"It's a good idea, anyway," the Doctor answered, opening the door and waiting for Spencer to walk out ahead of him. Before he left, he glanced back at the oddly compelling church once more, wishing that he himself could find the same peace of mind that it had brought to his lover.

***